Sunday, March 20, 2011

This past Saturday at training Cheryl and Chris Berg joined us to share their story about their son, James...seem in the photo above (sandwiched between his older twin brothers!).

First, a little background on how I originally met the Berg Family....I had the pleasure of meeting the Berg Family on the 2009 winter marathon team. I first heard about James Berg at our last training before the 2009 White Rock event...it was bitterly cold that morning and I didn't want to go to training but Allie was determined and said we had to go, so off we went that morning bundled in layers of clothes and running our last training miles before the event. As we all stood there huddled in a circle Cheryl and Chris told James' story...he was diagnosed with "ALL" on April 23, 2008. As they continued to tell about his diagnosis and treatment, in my mind, I was "blasted back to the past" remembering when Allie was diagnosed and how I thought I was coming home for a normal thanksgiving break but instead I was picked up at the airport and in the parking garage was told that Allie was diagnosed with leukemia. For some reason...hearing James' story really reminded me of Allie and why I was a part of TNT. I can picture that morning of training like it was yesterday. James' story and his family's commitment to helping find a cure and their continued participation in TNT events continues to motivate and inspire me! The Berg family is always in my thoughts and prayers.

So back to Saturday's mission moment...the Bergs came out and told about James and his journey. For the past year I have kept up on his caringbridge page. This is the 3rd time I have heard Chris and Cheryl speak about James' journey but this time they spoke about the end of his treatment...which if all goes as planned will be this July 2011! They spoke about how excited (and nervous) they are for the end of treatment. As many families do...they also said they would be throwing a huge "end of chemo/treatment" party. And one of the things they will do at that party is throw away all the empty plastic medicine bottles they have kept over the years. Cheryl brought one shoe box full of them and as she opened it I could see how shocked the team was to see that one child has to endure all that medicine for 3+ years. It definitely puts what we are fundraising for into perspective!